What should be noted when planting forage grass for raising sheep? A detailed explanation of planting techniques

Many sheep farmers grow forage grass themselves, which allows for more convenient and effective management of the flock. So what should be noted when planting forage grass for raising sheep? What are the forage grass planting techniques? Let's take a look below.

1. Select species according to the land

The normal growth of forage grass is closely related to suitable climatic conditions and the soil it depends on for survival. Any forage grass has certain requirements for environmental conditions. Even for the same forage grass, different varieties do not have exactly the same requirements for environmental conditions. Therefore, each place should select suitable forage grass varieties according to local climatic characteristics. In cold areas, it is advisable to plant cold-tolerant alfalfa (purple-flowered alfalfa), Winter Grazer 70 rye, cup plant, and sand milk vetch, etc.; in arid areas, it is advisable to plant drought-tolerant alfalfa, Sudan grass, and grain amaranth, etc.; in hot areas, it is advisable to plant cup plant, Sudan grass, and bitter lettuce, etc.; in warm and humid areas, it is advisable to plant ryegrass, Sudan grass, forage corn, and bitter lettuce, etc.; in alkaline soil, it is advisable to plant alkali-tolerant alfalfa, Winter Grazer 70 rye, cup plant, and Chinese wildrye, etc.; in acidic soil, it is advisable to plant acid-tolerant cup plant and white clover, etc.; in poor soil, it is advisable to plant barren-tolerant sand milk vetch, alfalfa, and smooth brome, etc.; in areas with high soil moisture, it is advisable to plant white clover, red clover, and Elymus dahuricus, etc.

2. Appropriate scale

The scale of sheep raising should be appropriate, and the sheep should match the field. Generally, the raising scale should not be too large. Every 667 sq m of forage grass can raise 10 to 15 sheep.

3. Scientific intercropping and relay intercropping

Try to use orchards, forest land, and mulberry fields to plant shade-tolerant forage grass, improve three-dimensional development and utilization, and reduce the planting area in open fields; or use tidal flats to plant salt-tolerant and high-yield forage grass and develop sheep raising on tidal flats, so as to improve the economic benefits of growing grass to raise sheep.

4. Timely sowing

As far as possible, in non-high-temperature seasons, choose sunny-slope plots to plant forage grass crops, so as to avoid the adverse effects of high temperature and low light.

5. Combined planting

When planting forage grass, it is necessary to select forage grass varieties according to the type and number of meat sheep being raised and according to the principle of combining long and short terms and reasonably supplying throughout the year. Reasonable combination and mixed sowing should be carried out according to different seasons and the growth characteristics of different forage grass varieties, so as to ensure that the total supply of forage grass in each month of the year can meet the needs of livestock and poultry. In warm spring, ryegrass, red clover, and alfalfa, etc. can be planted; in hot summer, cup plant and bitter lettuce, etc. can be planted; in cold winter, Winter Grazer 70 rye can be planted, with silage and dried hay used as supplementary forage grass. Forage grass planting can adopt mixed sowing of gramineous and leguminous forage grasses. Because the root systems and leaf distributions of these two types of forage grass are different, the nutrients absorbed are also different. Gramineous forage grass can also use the nitrogen provided by the rhizobia of leguminous forage grass. Therefore, the yield of forage grass can be significantly increased. In addition, when raising ruminant livestock such as meat sheep, it is necessary to prevent rumen bloat caused by eating a single leguminous forage grass. Generally, commonly used forage grass combinations include: tall fescue plus white clover or alfalfa, smooth brome plus alfalfa, alfalfa plus ryegrass, etc.

6. Timely harvesting

The determination of the harvesting time of forage grass for raising sheep should consider yield and quality. For example, the best harvesting time for ryegrass is from the heading stage to the milk-ripe stage, for barley is the booting stage, for oats is from the booting stage to the early heading stage, for peas and black beans is from flowering to the early podding stage, for corn is from the milk-ripe to the dough stage, and for alfalfa is the early flowering stage. If harvested too late, the stems of forage grass crops will age, nutrients will decrease, and palatability will become worse.